Fading Color
by Kaialynn
Summary: 2 years in Forks, my own devil on this earth. Someday, though, an angel will appear and take me away. I'll deal with anything if he will someday appear. AH / Somewhat OoC / Language / First Fic! / Later Lemons
1. Wait for the Flash of Gray

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight_, or any of the characters involved, they are property of Stephanie Meyer, and always will be. I also do not own the Chapter name (Which comes from the Pendulum's _Sounds of Life _off the album _Hold Your Colour_.)_

_This is my first attempt at writing any sort of fiction, or really anything outside of school. I've already noted some of the mistakes that I've made (Alice is a little less.....Fruity? Than what I'd like) I'll be trying to fix that over the next couple of chapters, as well as provide more detailed descriptions. If you DO like it, then by all means feel free to review or provide any opinions that you have, they are all very welcome, as long as they are constructive. Thanks._

_Enjoy!_

_~Kaia._

Bella:

_I walk my broken dreams._.

Even as I thought it, I felt like an idiot. What was I even talking about? Obviously I didn't know. Sigh.

I was on my way to Forks, Washington, where I was going to spend two forced years there with Charlie, my dad. It was an agreement we'd made in my family. Two years with my mom, two years with my dad. I can't believe that I had _actually_ agreed on this. It was a stupid idea, and I knew it.

My mother and my father are divorced. They had been since I was a kid, and every summer, I was required to spend at least a month with Charlie in Forks. After Sixth grade, I spent Seventh in Forks and Eighth in Phoenix. Then I traded two years with my mom for two years with my dad.

Because of this, I had no friends. None. Nada. Zip. Whatever word you're supposed to use. It didn't really matter anyway, I didn't even know what to say to people half the time. Connecting with people wasn't one of my strong points. As strange as it was though, somehow I had ended up with some of the 'popular' crowd. My Mom wasn't overly rich, and I don't have a model physique either.

Nobody ever understood it either. The popular girls never took a second thought about it. They paid for half of my clothes, made me go out occasionally, and asked for nothing in return. I guess I paid them back by listening to them rant – apparently I'm a good listener.

When I landed in Forks, I was prepared for the rain. I hated rain. It made everything so…_wet._ Charlie was waiting for me outside the airport in classic style.

"Hey Dad." I greeted him and gave him a quick hug. Charlie hated physical contact. It was kind of funny in a very odd way.

"Hey Bella, it's really great to see you again!" Charlie was so glad that I was staying in Forks with him again. "Let's get home."

"Okay," I answered, "How have you been Dad?"

This was another line I'd probably crossed too early as well, Charlie _despised_ small talk, a characteristic we often shared. I was just trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

"Just fine, but Bella, you know I hate small talk!" His lips were playing a smile, and I knew it was just a joke, but I was too depressed to make the effort to smile back. He asked me if I remembered anyone, and I said no. Charlie knew that I didn't have any friends here.

"You'll be excited then, two families just moved in, and they've got 5 kids between them. They're all around your age too!" Charlie was ecstatic. Me? I wasn't phased at all, just more people to deal with. Awesome. Could my life suck any more?

We drove from then on in silence. I thought about this family of 5. At least with the other 300 whatever kids at school, they knew who I was, and I could just ignore them, but I never really knew. Once again, I cursed the horrible luck I had.

Charlie pulled the cruiser into the driveway and smiled. "Welcome Home."

Edward:

"Edward! Downstairs! Now!"

_Sigh. What could Alice _possibly _want right now?_

Hello, my name is Edward Cullen, and I'm the most cliché person you'll ever meet. Ironic, isn't it? I _had _to be the definition of cliché. The male model superstar who had a perfect GPA and every girl in the school chasing him, and to boot? A rich father.

Nobody could ask for more than what I had. _So then why am I so miserable?_ I trudged down the stairs, listening for whatever horror Alice had planned for me this evening. All I wanted was to play my piano, but it was fairly obvious that wasn't going to happen.

"What, Alice?" I was more antagonistic than I meant to sound. Damn.

"Be nice Edward, or I'll punch you!" Alice shot right back. It was an empty threat and we both knew it, what with her tiny statuesque body. "I've decided that tomorrow we're all going to have lunch at The Pendulum tomorrow.

"Aw Alice," I groaned, "But tomorrow's _Saturday_". We still had a week before school started, but I wanted to have the week to myself for once.

"Don't even try to argue this one Edward, all of us are going, including _you_. I sighed, and looked at the ground. "Edward, listen to me. You're depressed, I know you want to play your piano all weekend, but I'm not going to let it happen!"

I sighed, "Alice, Look.."

"Absolutely not", she took a softer tone "You're unhappy because you need to _see_ people, like date someone, anyone. Ever since you broke up with _Jessica_."

I shuddered. If I was the generic popular guy, then Jessica Stanley was the generic popular girl. Our relationship lasted 4 days; it was the worst experience of my life.

"Okay Alice I'll go, but I'm not going to check out girls, I'm going to simply have lunch with you guys.

Alice stuck out her tongue at me.

Bella:

Charlie helped me get all my stuff up into my room. I wasn't sure if he was doing it to be polite or because he wanted to tell me something. As I quickly found out, it was the latter.

"Bella, I know you're not one to go out a lot, but I've made reservations at The Pendulum tomorrow, we're going out to eat there, okay?"

"Sure thing Dad!" I worked to make my voice enthusiastic. It was difficult, because I really didn't want to go out. "Can I have a minute to rest? I'm really tired."

Charlie smiled that crinkly smile that I loved to see and said "Alright Bells, I'll be downstairs if you need me." The one thing that was going to be nice was that Charlie didn't really care what I did. Well, as long it was on the right side of the law.

_Fuck my life._

I was dreading this, and I was probably making this worse than it could have been. I just wanted to get through this imposed hell, and I could go wherever I wanted. I was free. At least I had a week before school started.

I didn't even eat dinner, just went to bed early, crying for a good portion of the night.

* * *

When I woke up in the morning, I wasn't absolutely sure I was ready to face the world. I looked at the clock. 8:38. I had a couple hours before I had to be ready for lunch, so I went and got _Wuthering Heights_ out of my bag. It was one of my favorite books, and I read it for a good hour before I started getting ready for the nightmare that was going to be lunch.

Edward:

"10:30! You have five minutes to be ready mister!"

Alice was like a buzzing bee in a hive. Schedule? Check. Annoying? Check. Tiny? Check. Hmm, I was a riot no doubt. I really should stop insulting her, she was my twin after all. Then there was Emmett, our older brother, crazy guy, I tell you. Biggest softy I knew though, and man, was he easy to provoke. Our best friends were the Hales, Alice's boyfriend Jasper and his Sister Rosalie, and Emmett's girlfriend. Why couldn't they have had a third sibling? Was that too much to ask for?

"Whatever Alice, I'm not going." Oh, smart answer Edward, now she's going to bring Emmett up here.

Sure enough, about ten seconds later, I heard the crash as Emmett came barreling up the stairs. Why, _why_ did I have to say that?

You could almost hear the smile in their voices. "Edward, you have five seconds before I blow down this door and drag you to the goddamn restaurant!"

"Patience is a virtue Emmett, shut up and give me a minute." God, couldn't they see I didn't want to this? With a resigned sigh, I got up and opened the door, where I was immediately dragged downstairs and into Alice's Porsche. Lunchtime.

Bella:

The Pendulum is this really cool restaurant about thirty minutes outside of town. I wasn't all that jazzed about it, but Charlie was digging it, so I let it go and tried not to spiral down in misery. When we arrived, I had pulled myself together somewhat, so I was actually a bit excited to go inside.

"So Bella, are you excited for your first day of school?" Charlie seemed in an unusually good mood, it was odd. We were waiting for our table to become available.

"Yeah, I guess," I answered in a small voice. Charlie laughed at that, he could tell just by looking at me that I wasn't ready for school, and especially this new group I was going to have to deal with.

"You'll be fine Bella, you're a strong girl." _Oh yeah? Then why did I cry all night?_

"Thanks dad, it means a lot." I shuddered internally at what I was going to face next Monday. "What can you tell me about the new people?"

Charlie sighed. "There's five of them, they're all juniors and seniors, and…" He trailed off as our host approached us.

"Your table is ready, sir." He looked like some idiot who thought he was cool. I really hoped this wasn't all Forks had to offer, not that I had any dating opportunities in Phoenix, I was too awkward. He flashed a grin at me, and I just looked past him, and he looked disappointed when he was walking us to our table.

Because I knew Murphy's Law so well, I knew we were bound to see the people in question. _God damn_.

Edward:

I really didn't think today couldn't get any worse. Even though it hadn't been _that _bad so far, I really wanted to hate it, but it was working so far.

"Oh look!" Alice was ecstatic about something. I looked up and turned my head to see what she was pointing at.

Time froze.

I meant it literally. The world was frozen for a second as I took in the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She was perfect. Exquisite. Her body was soft, but thin, and she was wearing what looked like borderline designer clothing. That wasn't what froze time, though.

What froze time was her eyes. Chocolate brown, but they had incredible depth. Mirrored in them was the same things I saw in my own eyes. Depression, despair, and pain. Also abnormal perception and maturity, but who was I kidding. This perfect girl surely had a boyfriend, and I was certainly too depressing to ever have a chance with her.

"That must be Chief Swan's daughter!" You could already tell Alice had a new best friend, whether or not this girl wanted it. They were set to walk by our table, and it was a guarantee that she was going to introduce us.

"Chief Swan! Hi! It's Alice Cullen!" Alice was almost shouting now.

Chief Swan had a huge grin on his face as he walked by our booth. "Well hello there Alice, how are you?"

"I'm doing great! Thanks for helping fix Esme's car a few weeks ago." I was amazed she hadn't jumped out of the seat.

"Well now you're welcome! Let me introduce you to my daugh…" He was cut off by his phone vibrating. "Sorry, let me take this call, if you don't mind." Everyone quickly got the gist of the call. He was being called into work on Saturday, there was a car wreck and he had to be present at the scene.

"I'm so sorry," he said turning to us, "But can my daughter join you for lunch? I have to go into work."

I almost burst out laughing. The look the girl had given her father was _priceless_. I couldn't believe how lucky I was, though. Maybe I could find out something about this girl.

Bella:

_Oh. My. Fucking. God._

How could Charlie do this to me?! I was almost in tears. Making me eat lunch with this unfamiliar group? There's just no way that this could be happening to me. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

A girl with spiky black hair and designer clothing, with a smile that could have lit up the moon nearly squealed when Charlie threw out the question.

"Of course she can! Oh my god! We'll take great care of her Chief Swan!" I could see Charlie thought this was a riot. He was _so_ going to get it when I got home. Charlie handed me a twenty and gave me a look that said _Be nice…or else_, and walked out of the restaurant.

The girl named Alice slid farther into the booth so I could sit down. I stared down at my hands, too nervous to say anything.

"So, what's your name?" I was surprised Alice hadn't asked me this, and I looked up expectantly, trying to find out who it was.

It was one of _those guys_. You know. The one's that could be gods. This guy was beyond perfect. Green eyes, Perfect body, perfect skin. There's no way he was single. I couldn't believe what I was looking at. There was something about his eyes though…that made me unable to look away from him. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he stared right back.

After a few seconds, I snapped out of it. Instantly I could feel myself blushing. _Great job, so much for not being a social wannabe_. It took me a second to find my voice. "I'm Bella…Bella Swan." _Of course they know your last name_.

Alice grinned. "I'm Alice Cullen," she pointed to the god, "That's my twin brother, Edward," She waved her hand across the rest, "And that's Emmett, my older brother, Jasper, my boyfriend, and his older sister Rosalie, who also happens to be Emmett's girlfriend.

I was trying to smash my hopes that instantly rose up. His girlfriend must not have been able to come. _Or maybe, he doesn't have a girlfri- no! He's got a girlfriend!_ I must have looked like an idiot sitting there.

Eventually, I recovered. "It's nice to meet you all." _Never mind the fact that I'm retarded_.

Rosalie smiled and said "Welcome to Forks Bella, we just moved down from Vancouver, so it's a bit of a change for us."

They quickly started bombarding me with questions. Everyone except Edward, who looked like he had been hit with a taser.

Edward:

_She's seeing someone_.

_Maybe not!_

_Stop getting your hopes up, idiot, she's not interested!_

_I might have a chance_.

Why, why was I sitting here like an idiot, struggling to find something to say? Probably because I _was_ an idiot, someone who obviously did not deserve this amazing girl. I tried to form a question, but every time I tried, it was like someone grabbed my tongue, and I couldn't bring myself to say anything.

Alice was the one asking the most questions, and the poor girl looked like she was being tortured. She didn't seem to like anything social, but with her looks and clothing, I could reach no other conclusion except that she obviously didn't like us.

At one point, Alice started with her love life.

"Bella, do you have a boyfriend?" the question was so outright, I wasn't surprised when her eyes dilated and she looked away.

"No…umm, I've never had a boyfriend…Someone like me usually doesn't date, especially with _my _looks.

"But you're really pretty!" Alice was confused. Bella gave her a skeptical look and she said it in earnest again, "Seriously, you're really pretty! Every guy in the school is going to be after you!"

She cringed and said "I really hope not." Poor girl, I felt bad for her when she was going to have people like _Mike Newton _after her. Filthy man-whore.

She surprised me, and everyone else at the table then by saying "Umm, do _you_ have a boyfriend…Edward?" She said my name like a question. _Great Job, she doesn't even know your name_.

I was so angry with myself that I got up from the table and muttered "I'll be right back."

Bella:

_Why did you ask him that? Now he's angry with me. Fan-fucking-tabulus_.

Edward got up and very nearly ran toward the exit. Alice stared at him like he had ruined Christmas. _Nice_. _You're so smooth Bella_.

"Don't mind Edward, he's just being a party pooper" Alice finally said after a few awkward seconds. "He's probably just sulking about something that he can't play his piano or something."

"I'm pretty sure it was what I said. I'm not very good in social situations, I just figured…" I was trying not to cry now.

"No, no! Bella don't worry, Edward has always been a little weird. Just punch him in the face the next time you see him ." She laughed.

I couldn't shake the feeling that I was the reason why Edward had ran away, but Alice moved on in her questioning. I'd never talked so much in my life. I didn't really like answering all these questions, but her and her family really seemed to enjoy it. Emmett seemed to think I was a riot, so maybe Edward _was_ a little strange.

"Alright, well it's time to go guys. Bella, do you need a ride home?" Emmett was laughing already, no doubt at what Edward's reaction would be when we got in the car.

"…Actually, if you don't mind, _I_ would like to take Bella home." I instantly froze. Could it be?

Edward was standing behind us.

_Wait, did he just ask…to drive _me_ home? Seriously?_ Edward grinned and said "Please Alice? I've got the Volvo and everything.

Alice giggled. "Sure Edward. I can't believe you drove home and back _just_ to drive her home, but more power to you!"

My eyes got a little wider, did he really do that for _me_?

"S-Sure…" I stuttered. Edward looked at me skeptically.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to, you know." His eyes seemed to hold me there and I couldn't look away.

I flushed. "No…I want to go. Thank you very much."

Emmett and Jasper had huge smiles on their faces. "Yeah Edward, have fun with the _ride_," Emmett said. Jasper started laughing too.

I was missing something here, obviously.

Edward:

"Hey Emmett, you ever heard of the phrase 'looks could kill?'" Jasper said while trying not to laugh.

I'm sure that's probably the look I was giving Jasper. I didn't care though. I just wanted to get to know Bella better, and they _weren't_ helping.

"Die in a Fire, Emmett." I snapped. Bella slapped my arm.

"Be nice!" I was surprised, although she seemed to be socially awkward, she also seemed to connect with people in a different way. She already seemed like one of us. I had no doubt Bella would fall in with us at school.

Alice grabbed her cell phone and handed it to Bella. "Here, give me your phone, and we can trade numbers. We'll get together tomorrow too so you can meet Carlisle and Esme!"

Bella fumbled with her purse and gave Alice her phone. After they traded numbers, Alice finally let me go. We walked to my car in total silence. Bella looked like she was very, very afraid about whatever it was I seemed to have planned for her.

I opened the door for her and she seemed startled "Thanks…" _Oh man Edward, could you have screwed this up _any _more?_

I got in the drivers side, and started the car. After I had backed up and we were on the highway, I turned to look at her for a second.

"I'm really sorry for what happened back there…" She started and I cut her off.

"Don't worry, it was my fault. Let's just put it behind us, okay?" I hoped that would placate her.

She smiled a beautiful smile. "Are you sure? I really didn't mean to upset you like that."

I grinned back. "I'm fine." I waited a few seconds for her to say something, and when she didn't, I prompted her…"Friends?"

"As long as you're not holding a grudge against me." I rolled my eyes, this girl was insane, for sure.

"To answer your question though…" Now it was her turn to cut me off.

"It's okay, you don't have to answer."

"I don't." I managed to finish. I glanced over at her. She seemed to be wrestling with a problem.

"Okay. Thanks for answering," somehow, it seemed I had upset her again. _Wow Edward, ruin people's lives' for a living, why don't you_?

"Can I ask you something else?" She continued.

"Sure. Ask me anything."

_[Author's Note] And there you have it. I hope you didn't think it was terrible, and I'm sure most will agree Alice is a liitttle too...dreary, I guess, for my tastes. I'll be working on that, as it was by far the thing that bothered me most. I'll try to update the story whenever possible. Again, anything you'd like to share is awesome._

_Thanks again,_

_~Kaia._


	2. And We Will Feel The Same

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight_, or any of the characters involved, they are property of Stephanie Meyer, and always will be. I also do not own the Chapter name (Which comes from the Pendulum's _Sounds of Life _off the album _Hold Your Colour_…again. Shoot me.)_

_Thanks to everyone who read chapter 1. And thank you _Meliawn _for being the first person to favorite my story! You're awesome =)._

_I meant to upload this a long time ago, I've just been so busy with real life I haven't had the time. I'll try to have Chapter 3 up by Friday, If not sooner._

_Enjoy!_

_~Kaia_

Bella:

_I can ask him…anything_?

_Do you WANT a girlfriend?_

_No!_

_What can I say that won't be awkward?_

"Umm…is that…Beethoven?" I thought it was the first movement of Moonlight Sonata, but I couldn't be sure.

"Wow. You like classical?" He was a little skeptical, and I couldn't blame him. What _sane_ seventeen year-old was interested in _Classical_?

"Yeah, my mom used to play piano all the time at our house. She wasn't all that amazing, but she really enjoyed it. I loved hearing the music. It brings back great memories…" I trailed off.

Edward smiled his amazing smile. My heart skipped a beat. "Interesting. Did you ever learn to play?"

Talking with him was so…easy. "No, I quit after two weeks, playing music is out of my range of abilities…and I didn't like it." I giggled. I remembered the tantrum I threw to get out of piano lessons, it wasn't pretty. "Alice told me you liked playing the piano, and that you were really good."

He grinned again. "I guess I'm okay. Piano has such a calming…feel to it. That's how I would describe it, at least. I've been playing forever though."

"How long exactly?" I couldn't tell if he was trying to impress me or was just informing me about his life playing the piano.

"Ten? Twelve? Maybe Thirteen years."

I was blown away. Most people quit their instruments in sixth grade, or dropped them in high school so they could be rock stars. Almost everyone tried that path. "That's insane. Did you not want to ever be a rock star?"

Edward looked confused. "Not really…? Am I missing something?"

I blushed furiously. Wherever he had lived, this wasn't the normal thing to do. _Nice Bella_. _We must be trying to set the world record for stupidity_. "Oh…in Arizona, everyone wants to be a rock star in high school."

He laughed. "No, I get the rock star part. I wasn't interested in it. I meant, how is that insane? I don't think I'm insane."

God damnit. _Hi guys, say hello to the amazing Tomato girl! She can turn red in an instant! Only 5 dollars!_ "Oh…"

Edward:

I glanced at Bella. I had a feeling she thought I was insane. I guess I just wasn't good at all with this girl thing.

"Well, maybe I am. I don't know." I said uncertainly. Maybe I could get her on my good side before we got to her house. _Shit! Where does she live?_

Bella blushed again furiously. "No, no, I'm the one who's insane." I raised my eyebrows. "Seriously! All I do is make situations really awkward."

I disagreed. "No, really. It's fine. I enjoy talking to you." _Why don't you just say 'Bella, will you marry me?' It wouldn't have been as stupid as what you just said!_

Her eyes betrayed all her emotions. I could tell immediately that what I had said had touched her. "Thanks." She mumbled. "No-one's ever said that before. I like talking to you, too."

_She…enjoys…talking…to…me_?

_What have I done to deserve this_?

She blushed furiously again, but said in a stronger voice "Actually, umm…I've never been able to talk to anyone like I have with you. It's just so…easy." I could see that she meant it.

How had this happened? It seemed like in an instant we had gone from being two awkward people in a car to admitting our feelings for each other. Well, not really, but it felt like it to _me_. I focused as hard as I could on driving, because if I let myself get to carried away, I might crash the car.

"Thank you. I would tell you that you were the first to tell me that too, but every girl I've ever dated has said that to me." I wish she had been the first, though.

She laughed. "You mean half the school?" Well, she wasn't oblivious to my generic looks, then.

I frowned. "No…"

Bella laughed again. "Yes you have, you dirty liar, Alice told me every girl in the school was after you!"

Stupid bitch. Now I hated Alice. Well not really, but I could pretend to. "She's lying." I tried not to frown. It was going to give me away.

Bella was almost in tears from laughter now. "Whatever Edward! I may be insane, but I'm not stupid! Girls would have to be blind not to see how sexy you are!"

_Now_ she had done it. "Oh, you think I'm sexy?" I asked her with an evil grin.

Her face almost made me burst into laughter.

Bella:

_Good fucking game_. _Just admit it and try again next time_.

I thought I might die from embarrassment. Edward was having a field day with this one. "Fine, yes. Yes I do." Why, why, why, why, why did I not think about what I said before I admitted to thinking he was hot? _Well, because he is_!

Edward looked like a five year old on Christmas day. I was pissed. "I'm just stating the obvious here. I'm sure every girl you've met has told you that. Hell, I bet Alice would even agree with me."

"Someone's getting defensive. Do I detect a 'Edward is hot' feeling coming from you?" God, I wanted to punch him in the face, although it was kind of cute.

"Do you think I'm hot?" _THAT was the question to ask_. If my face had been priceless, then god couldn't even describe Edward's face. I could care less about the answer, because I already knew I wasn't hot at all, and Edward was most definitely not interested.

It took him a minute to answer. "Yes."

I couldn't even press the advantage, if I had even had one in the first place. I wasn't even sure how to respond.

I tried not to be awkward. "Thanks, then."

He laughed. "It's okay, you're insane, so you need to be in a mental hospital anyway." Damn, he was good at making things not weird really quickly!

"Yeah, I guess. Maybe some guy will push me off a bridge someday, and I'll fall to my death." I was smiling at my own predicted death. How ironic.

Edward seemed to be having so much fun. "I'd stop them if they tried."

"Well, aren't you a gentleman then." I cringed, too sarcastic. Hopefully he wouldn't take it too harshly.

He sighed in mock hurt. "That cut me deep, Bella. How do you think that makes me feel?"

I shrugged. "Like the jerk you are?" We both started laughing.

Edward:

How was this happening? I connected with this girl so easily. She connected with me too. We were already friends, and we'd barely known each other a half hour, maybe a little more.

I sighed. She looked at me and said, "What?"

I just sat there for a minute. Eventually, I took a deep breath and said, "It's just so strange, Alice is the only other person I really have ever connected with. My other family and the Hales'…we're just never on the same page."

Bella's answer was just as serious. "Yeah, It's the same way for me too. My old friends and I were the same way. It's so…nice." She smiled.

I hadn't even noticed, but we were at our house. Alice and the rest of them probably wouldn't be home for another fifteen or so minutes, so I still had some time with Bella alone.

"This. Isn't. Your. House." Bella was stunned.

I snorted. "No, I took you to some random house in the middle of nowhere just to piss you off. I don't know where you live, and since Charlie won't be home for a while, I figured you'd like to hang out here. If you don't want to, I can take you home. Besides, Alice and them aren't even close to being done with you."

She looked terrified, and I laughed again. I held the door open for her as she got out. "Would you like to meet my mother, Esme?"

Bella glanced up at me and asked, "Oh, I have a choice in the matter?"

I grinned at her and said, "Nope, I was just being polite."

"What if she doesn't like me?" I rolled my eyes. This girl was the definition of irony.

"Esme _loves_ everyone I introduce her to. Don't worry!" I dragged her through the door and into the house.

She stopped as soon as we got into the entryway. "Wow Edward…this is crazy!" I laughed. We had a lot more money, we just chose not to spend it, so I was glad she didn't know what we _could_ have put in here.

"It's not as bad as it could be." I shrugged. She turned to stare at me I nudged her a little and said "Come on, let's go to the kitchen. Esme's probably in there making cookies or something."

Bella:

Edwards house was unbelievable. The entryway was perfectly situated to provide easy access to the rest of the house. There was a massive crystal chandelier in the center, and a small waterfall tower next to a bench to the left of us. It looked like the lobby of a five star hotel.

Edward pulled me through a massive entryway and into the kitchen. Inside was one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. She had brown hair that was halfway down her back, and the most perfect heart shaped face I had ever seen. I understood where some of Edward's looks had come from.

"Mom? This is Bella Swan, Chief Swan's daughter. She just moved up from Arizona, and I was trying to help her feel welcome."

Esme smiled at me. "Hello Bella, your father is an amazing man." _Wow, her voice is just so…quiet_!

I blushed and tried to smile back. "Thank you, your house is wonderful." I managed to stutter out. _Here comes awkward Bella crashing down everything, fucking great._

Esme was still smiling. "Thank you, but your beauty far outshines anything in this house."

I blushed. I wasn't used to receiving comments like that. "Thanks." I could hear more classical music playing in the background. This time it was Clair de Lune. I loved this song too.

"You'll stay for dinner, won't you?" Esme pleaded, "I haven't had a chance to pay back your father for helping me so much."

Obviously, I couldn't deny this. But for once, I _wanted_ to stay. "Sure, just let me call Charlie quickly."

She looked like I had made her day. Seeing as how sweet and pure she seemed, I probably had. I felt so happy just making her happy. I pulled out my phone and quickly scrolled through the contact list to Charlie's number.

He answered on the second ring. "Chief Swan."

"Dad!"

"Hey Bells! I'm so sorry I left you there like that. I hope you made some new friends."

"Yeah dad, actually, thanks. I did!" Wow, since when was I so happy? Charlie probably thought I was mentally ill too.

"I won't be able to make it home for dinner either. I'm so sorry, this is taking _forever_ to get resolved." Poor Charlie, he was trying so hard to make me happy to be in Forks.

"It's okay, Dad. I'm at the Cullens' house now. They invited me to stay for dinner, is that alright?" Charlie laughed. Of course he would be okay with it, seeing as how well he seemed to know the Cullens.

"Sure thing, Bella. Have fun!"

"I will Dad, good luck with…everything." I hung up the phone.

"I can stay!" I told them both. Like they didn't know already, I was ten feet from them.

Esme smiled, "That's great! By the way Edward, where are the rest of them?"

Edward:

I shrugged. Nothing else mattered, except that I got to be with the one person I connected with a little longer. "I drove a separate car, they'll probably be home in the next few minutes."

Bella looked a little worried. I walked over to her and whispered in her ear "Don't worry, you'll be fine." I didn't know why I did that, because we'd barely gotten to know one another, and the contact was awfully close.

She reacted indifferently, or so it seemed. "Yeah, I guess." She still looked worried.

I pushed her into our living room. Our 55 inch Sony T.V. was already on MTV.

We both sat down on the couch, although I wasn't a huge fan of what was on, _The Real World_, I dealt with it. Besides, Bella's expression was all I wanted to watch, especially after she found out that we were going to keep talking with her. It was hilarious.

She sighed at me. "Do we have to keep up the quizzing?"

I laughed. "Well, you can't blame them. People at school tend to avoid us, especially because of…you know…_us_. If you catch my drift, it's like Christmas for them. _And Christmas for me too_.

Alice bounded through the door a couple minutes later. "We're home!" she sang, "Where's my sister?" That threw me for a second, and then I realized she was talking about Bella.

Everyone sat down around us. Emmett looked like he was having the time of his life, seeing us sitting close to each other.

"Bella!" Alice was still using her half-annoying sing-song voice, "You _have_ to come see my room. Now!" Bella looked terrified.

"Alice, I don't think she really wants to.." I began…

"Shut up Edward! You got to be in the car with her. It's _my_ turn." It was really cute actually, Alice was acting like a five year old with a new toy.

I sighed. "Fine, take her. You've got thirty seconds."

Alice slapped me. "Yeah right! She's mine for the rest of the night. Let's go Bella!" She yanked her up the stairs. I mouthed 'have fun' to her. She rolled her eyes and mouthed back 'fuck you'. I laughed at her. Poor girl.

Bella:

"Oh my god Bella, you have to tell me everything!" Alice was squealing. I sighed, Rosalie was coming up the stairs too. I guess this was a forced girls' night. I'd had enough of these back in Phoenix, but I'd put up with it for Alice.

"Tell you about what?" I wasn't sure what Alice was asking about.

Alice narrowed her eyes. "You know what about Bella. Now spill! Before I pee my pants with excitement."

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?" Damn, people need to be more direct when they want something. I felt like I was with some guy who was trying to tell me he was in love with me, without actually _saying _it.

Rosalie, _Rose! She likes rose!_ Rose finally made it through the door. She smiled and sighed at Alice before answering my question.

"She wants to know what you and Edward were up to." Oh, that was all? Why the excitement then?

"Umm…he drove me home?" This is why I had trouble with girls, I never understood the excitement to be had when someone is just taking you somewhere. It was meaningless babble to me.

"Yes, yes" Alice started impatiently "but what _happened?_" What, was she expecting the two shy kids in the group to have had sex or something? _I wonder though…I've never been good at this but…_

"Well, what would you say if we 'tested the waters'?" I asked with a grin and then giggled. Edward was _so_ going to kill me. Or maybe he would play along. Besides, it was kind of fun with Alice and Rose, unlike with the Phoenix girls, although they probably knew me a lot better.

Alice was jumping up and down. "Oh my god! You didn't! Edward didn't! No! No! No!" _Well, she believed you, maybe you aren't _that_ socially inept_.

Rosalie just shook her head. I let them be silly for a minute, and be happy for Edward, and I guess me, since they knew I had never done anything like that. I got a little annoyed after a minute and then said "Not."

Alice was the face of sadness. "Aww, I'm so sorry! Leave it to Edward to ruin everything." She continued to go on.

Meanwhile, she left me in a state of total confusion. _Why would she be _sorry _her twin brother didn't get any 'action'_. _Or me for that matter…_

"Alice, what are you talking about?" I was a little irritated now, because although Rose was just in the background, she too was babbling on with Alice about why nothing happened.

Alice looked back at me and smiled. "Don't you see it?"

"What is there to see…?"

Understanding seemed to filter into her eyes. "Oh, do you not—" , she froze.

Rose looked at me strangely too. "Do you think we saw something wrong?" She asked Alice.

"No, it was _there_. Edward probably ruined it." She answered, her eyes narrowing.

"_What_ are you talking about? Edward drove me to your house, he was very polite and I personally thought he was the most welcoming and friendly of all of you!" _See? This is why everyone wondered why you were with the popular girls_!

Alice's face went from understanding to mock hurt, "I thought you loved me Bella?" Rose mimicked her.

"No, I do, you guys have been amazing for me so far…but there was something about Edward and me. He just…_understands_." There we go, I finally found the right word to place Edward. He barely knew me, but he _knew_ me.

Alice's face changed again in a flash, once again she understood something that was beyond mine. "Oh! So you guys just don't….you know, _know_ yet?"

"Alice…" I began.

Alice just grabbed my arm and steered me toward her room, I hadn't even realized we had just been at the landing of her room.

"I'll ask you later Bella. It's obvious that you don't know yet. This is more serious than I thought. Let me change really quickly and we'll go hang out with the boys." Her train derailed every other second it seemed.

Alice's room was beautiful. Big, but not too big, with tons of pictures all over the wall and a ton of fancy designer clothes, perfume's, and just about everything else you could think of that had a designer on it.

Rosalie asked me a lot about my friends. I was beginning to understand why things were so awkward for me back in Phoenix. My other friends never asked anything really _deep_. Just pointless meandering, but I was still really, really quiet. I just didn't like to talk.

"Alright, now we go downstairs, where we will all eat dinner, and since we don't have school tomorrow, we're going to hang out with the boys, and then we will do _evil_ things to them." She cackled. _I'm sorry in advance, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett_!

[Authors Note] The story is moving a little slow, I know. It will pick up, I promise! This one was a little shorter I think. Oh well, the characters felt much better in this chapter, I was having difficulty expressing the correct Alice! Reviews are always nice and welcome too ;).

~Kaia


	3. Crushes are like Water

_Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight_, or any of the characters involved, they are property of Stephanie Meyer, and always will be. I also do not own the chapter title, which comes out of the song _Burning from the Inside (Tenishia's Burning Dub) _by the artist _Tenishia_ off of the Album ­_A State of Trance 2008 with Armin Van Buuren_._

_So, here we are, a couple months later with me _completely_ forgetting that this place even existed. I finished this chapter a very long time ago, and then I got caught up reading other stories and..yeah. No more excuse haha._

_I'd like to take the time out of my day to thank Alotalittle, who has been gracing me with 2 reviews (and seems to sound a little angry in the second! I'm sorry!) and in general complimenting my work. I personally think it's just average, but hey, things can always change, right? _

_I'm about halfway through the next chapter, so I'll have that up soon, no more disappearing for me, I promise!_

* * *

Bella:

Oh man, Esme can _cook_! Dinner was so amazing. I was worried about it at first, but it turned out to be really pleasant.

Carlisle and Esme both really liked me…well, that was the impression I got. They asked me a few questions, but they left the dismemberment of every second of my life to Alice. She seemed perfectly content to ask anything that came to her mind. Emmett, Rose, and Jasper asked the occasional questions too, but for the most part, it was _all _Alice.

I didn't hate her for it though. It was just…different. I kept wondering what she had been asking me about in her room though. There wasn't much that I wasn't already sure about, and right now, I was seriously regretting my 'unsureness' _Bella, is that even a word?_ About coming to Forks.

I think something happened to Edward though. He just sat there at the table playing with his food, and in general looking like a mood killer. _Well, at least you understand why everyone calls him that_.

"Bella…Earth to Bella?" Alice was waving her hand in front of my face. "Did you hear me?"

"What?"

"Are you staying the night?" Now she had her sad puppy face on. _Edward might kill the mood, but man, you sure know how to kill the fun_. "I know it's only your first night here, but I would love it so much!"

Hmm, Alice was taking this whole 'sister she never had' to an extreme. I liked her, though. Way better than any of my old friends.

"Umm, I can ask Charlie, but I can't be sure. He'll probably want to know where the boys are staying." Classic Charlie. I could see him busting down the door at midnight with his gun raised just to make sure I wasn't hooking up with Edwa- Some random guy.

"Oh, I already called him," Esme said. "Carlisle needed me to give him some information about his visit to the hospital last week and I just asked him then. He was glad too. If what I heard is correct, someone's been killed and he has to inform them that they've…passed on."

_Sigh_. _Well, at least Charlie's a strong guy_. _What a horrible thing to have to do_.

Something flashed in Jasper's eyes. "That reminds me Bella!" He very nearly shouted. Oh god, what was he going to ask?

"Hmm?"

"What's the funniest experience of your life! How could you have forgotten this one Alice?" He laughed.

I thought about it, and the only thing that I could remember was…

"Well, it's the scariest _and _funniest experience of my life. Does that count?" I asked him.

"Oh, this has got to be good!"

I sighed. "Back in Arizona, my 'best friend' if you could call her that, was named Alexis. She decided one day that apparently I was too anti-social for the world, and set me up on a date without my knowledge."

Great, Emmett was already in tears with laughter.

Edward, who had been listening very carefully, punched Emmett in the arm and said "Shut up! I want to hear this!"

Emmett tried to reign it in. "Sorry…this…is…just…going to be….too good!"

I glared at Emmett and said "Thanks. Anyway, it turned out to be this disgusting kid Jacob Black. I don't even know why I agreed, but we decided to double date with Alexis and her boyfriend Robert. Literally though, this kid was _such _a jerk." I was having trouble not pounding the table in anger, although my fist would be the only thing getting hurt there.

It felt like Edward's eyes were trying to bore a hole through me and see something I was somehow missing. I shifted a little in my chair.

Edward:

_Stop staring, idiot! She's really not very comfortable with this!_ I made every effort I could to stop staring at her, but of course, Emmett couldn't stay shut up.

"That's…it? Wow Bella, way to be super anti-climactic," Emmett said. What a baby.

"Sorry, I was a little…distracted. That's not the end," She said. "About halfway through dinner I got up to go to the restroom. Apparently so did Jacob," her voice turned brooding. "Well, I guess he followed me to the restroom, waited for me to come out, and pinned me against the wall."

_Oh_. _My_. _God_. I was going to kill this Jacob person. I didn't care what anyone said about him or anything.

_Before you freak out Edward, remember that she said this was supposed to be funny_.

Bella paused for a minute. "I don't remember exactly what happened, but he tried to lick my cheek," she giggled. How could that be _funny_? "Well, either way, right as he said something like 'oh baby, I'm going to enjoy this…" She stopped and burst into laughter.

The rest of us where all a little confused. It would really help if she would just tell us what happened, instead of delaying the punch line.

When she noticed none of us were laughing, rather looking at her with concern, she froze. "Oh right, I didn't tell you what happened," She giggled again "Before he could do anything more than that, some old lady walked around the corner, freaked out, beat the shit out of him with her purse, kicked him where the sun doesn't shine, and as he collapsed sprayed him with pepper spray."

The whole table burst into laughter. _That poor child_. _Scarred for life by some old lady_.

Emmett was in tears, "Alright, I'll give you that, best story I've heard in a while."

She blushed. "Thanks. It wasn't funny at the time, but it's cute to look back on."

Jasper was laughing almost as hard as Emmett. "What happened to him?"

Bella rolled her eyes and answered his question. "It was like the fifth time he had been arrested for attempted assault, and the fifth time that someone had stopped him. He got fifteen years in prison with a chance at parole."

_Good_. _You belong there_. I had to ask, "Is he out?"

Bella shook her head. "No, he decided to try to be the tough guy in prison I heard and was killed by a couple of the inmates." She shrugged.

Carlisle and Esme both gasped. "Are you sure?" Carlisle asked. Bella nodded back.

"That's horrible…but…not unexpected," Esme said. It was true, though. Sucks that he died, but it was going to happen.

Bella:

I tried to watch Edward's reaction as I finished my story. Overall, nobody had seemed affected too much by it. I thought it was pretty funny, regardless of what happened.

"Alright Bella, since you're staying the night, what do you want to do?" Alice asked me.

Emmett narrowed his eyes. "_What_? How come she gets to decide! You never let any of us decide what we get to do when we all hang out!"

Alice sighed, "Because Emmett, its her first night here, and I'm technically deciding by letting Bella decide. So HA!"

_Wait wha-?_

"I really don't care," I put in, "Let Emmett decide!"

Emmett grinned. He looked like a giant teddy-bear with a huge…muscled…body. "Okay! Xbox 360!"

Alice and Rose groaned. "Can't you ever play something _besides_ video games?" Rose asked.

"Well baby, I can play _you_." Jasper and Edward started laughing, Carlisle and Esme both grinned.

"Alright Bella, I'll take you home so you can get some of your clothes and whatever else you need to stay the night." Alice really did run things around here.

"Can I take her?" Edward asked hopefully.

The look Alice gave him could have killed half of China.

"No Edward, She's _mine_."

Edward shrugged. "Ask her, then."

Alice turned to me, but before she could even open her mouth I quickly said, "Alice, could you take me please?" I just wanted to see Edwards reaction.

He looked like the over spoiled kid who didn't get what he wanted on Christmas day. "Seriously Edward," I told him, "We'll be back in five minutes. Don't get wrecked up over this."

Alice jumped up and down in and said in a sing-song voice, "Bella likes me more! Bella likes me more!" Christ, this family was like a bunch of fucking five year olds. Cute, but man were they just out there.

She lead me out to her car. _A Porsche? A Motherfucking Porsche? What the hell! Jesus life is unfair_.

Alice caught me staring at the car. "Yeah I know. I'm lucky."

I shrugged, "You are."

We got into the car and I gave Alice instructions on how to get to my house. Alice wasn't about to let me slip off into my dream world, though.

"So. Do you like Forks so far?"

No matter how much I loved and trusted Alice already, I wasn't ready to commit to loving Forks. "I guess. I've been here before, though. How come I've never seen you guys?"

Alice giggled. "Well, we've been here less time overall than you have. We moved here when I was a freshman. Before we lived up in Alaska with Rose and Jasper's Aunts, Tanya, and Kate."

"All of you?"

"Well, Jasper's mom and Carlisle are apparently in the join practice thing, I don't really get it, but basically they _have_ to work together, we just go where they tell us to."

Their story was so much more interesting than mine, it was so alien to be moving because of parents and not because of you. "So, you guys have all been friends forever then?"

"Yeah. Although it used to be just the four of us. Edward never wanted to play with us before. He always wanted to play his piano or read a book, or just sit and _think_," she stuck out her tongue. "I know Edward better than anyone else does, maybe even better than he does. But it's not saying much. He's really secretive and doesn't trust people with secrets very easily."

My eyebrows shot up. It explained a lot. While he had been pretty open, I noticed that he always seemed to be short of saying everything, and always left you feeling like not enough was said. "And that's why you call him a mood killer or whatever?"

Alice nodded. "Yeah, you're both similar in that way, except you're the polar opposite of Edward. He's all about secrecy, you just haven't had enough practice."

I frowned at her. "Is it maybe possible that I'm just socially inept?"

"Wrong. When I'm done with you, you'll be a social butterfly. You may not go out and _be_ one, but you'll have the skills."

I rolled my eyes. There was obviously no arguing with Alice and her insane ways.

"So, what do you think of Edward?" _Damn, did she notice me staring at Edward all night?_

I blushed and looked straight ahead. _Yeah, because that doesn't give you away at all._ "He's nice. About what you said earlier though. Can you _please_ tell me what you're talking about?"

Alice grinned. "I'm not sure it's something I should talk to you about right now, but if you want to, we can."

So, did I really want to know what she was talking about? I wasn't sure I knew the answer. It was really eating away at me though. "Yeah, I'd like to know if you don't mind. It bothers me…"

Alice laughed again. "I know the feeling. It's about you and Edward."

I froze. _Wow, she already noticed_. "What about us?"

"Do you like him?"

"Umm," I started, would she tell Edward if I said yes, and would she be mad? I wasn't sure if I should tell her anything. Besides, I didn't know the answer myself. He was really nice and attractive too. _Understatement. He's gorgeous._ "I'm…not…really…sure." I weighed each word heavily.

If it was a surprise to Alice, she didn't show it. "Good. I really like you Bella, and from what I know about Edward, I think he's interested. But he had trust issues. Just because Edward sucks at bringing the mood doesn't mean he's not nice."

"I …thanks." I really needed to think about this some more. And talk with Edward more. And not be stupid about it.

"Can I talk to him about it?"

"Yeah Alice. I'm not really sure if there even _is_ anything."

"Well, you have to understand. I was the first person to 'make the connection' in our little family, and that was with Jasper. I never understood it, but after I saw it happen with Emmett and Rose, I know how it looks. You guys _really_ had that look."

Wow, Alice talks like she's a relationship counselor.

"You seem to know a lot about this."

Alice giggled. "Well, I just think it's really cool stuff. I'd like to be a psychologist. Or a fashion designer. Either one. Seriously though, you guys have _something_. You may turn out to be perfect friends, or a perfect couple. It might even be both."

She sighed. "I want Edward to be happy. He's been through so much shit with our family and always being the odd one out. Whatever you are to him, don't mess it up okay?"

I nodded. I couldn't hurt him. Not after what Alice had said and what I'd already experienced. "I won't."

She parked the car in front of my house and we got my stuff. Alice was very impressed with my clothing collection. Apparently I was the only other once who had decent clothing.

When we got back to the house, 'the crew' as Alice called them, were playing some Xbox game. _Oh. My. God._

It was _Mega Man 9._ Robert used to make me play it all the time when Alexis went shopping or when I refused to go somewhere with them. To be fair, I'd actually gotten pretty good at the game. Tyler even said one of my scores was in the top 100. It didn't mean anything to me though.

"Oh Bella, you have _got_ to try this," Jasper said. "This game is _really_ hard."

"Umm…not really. It's just about memorization."

Oh man, the looks I got where _priceless_. I needed a camera to get pictures of all the looks I'd gotten.

"If you're so good, then beat one of these levels!" Emmett was _totally_ pouting. Seriously? Yeah, the game was hard, until you figured out the patterns. Oh well, maybe I'd get some respect with the guys for doing this.

"Emmett, you haven't even beaten a single boss yet."

"I told you it was hard!" Jasper and Edward were laughing.

"Yeah, keep laughing," I rolled my eyes, "You haven't beaten any either." That shut them up.

I tore through one of the easier levels. When I finished, I looked around to see all of their jaws on the floor.

Jasper recovered first. "Where did you learn to play so well? Are you secretly a gamer at heart?"

I shrugged. "When the girls would all go out I was forced into playing whatever the guys brought over for the night. They happened to be obsessed with it at the time. I don't really like games, but I just got good at it."

Rose and Alice were laughing really, really hard. To see the guys get beaten by a girl was probably the best day of their lives.

Edward hadn't said anything since we got back. He got up now and left the room. As he walked by Alice kicked him and said, "Yeah Edward, go be anti-social. We don't want you here anyway!"

Poor Edward.

Edward:

The piano. My great escape. I couldn't stand another second of the pointless babbling that was happening in the room. Alice kicked me and said something to me on the way out, but I ignored her. I just wanted to be at the piano, to be _happy_.

I closed the door behind me and started playing. It was my escape. I ran over the day in my head. I had met the most beautiful, intelligent person in the world. She and I had connected so well.

"Bella Swan, you drive me crazy." Literally. It wasn't even your actions, just _you_.

I kept playing, and began to let my feelings for her slowly colour the music. It was a rough composition, but very distinct. Soft, sweet, but still with a highly mysterious edge to it. I liked it.

I could have played the song forever. The two most perfect things in the world that I was lucky enough to find.

_Get a hold on yourself, Edward. You barely know this girl._

My conscience was right. What was I falling into? It seemed like I was ready to jump into a pit that I didn't even know had a bottom.

There was a soft knock on the door. I stopped playing for a second, and then resumed. Nobody needed my permission to come in.

The door opened and closed very softly. I didn't turn around. It was either Esme coming in to listen, or maybe Alice, wanting to yell at me for being anti social.

I drifted in and out of songs for another fifteen or so minutes before I was finally interrupted.

"You weren't lying when you said you could play well."

I froze. How did Bella know where to find me, and why was she-

"Why are you crying?" It wasn't to say she wasn't beautiful, the opposite in fact. However, I didn't understand what I had done to make her cry.

She choked and said, "Sorry, I'm being really stupid. I've just never heard anyone play the piano that well."

I looked away awkwardly. "Thanks."

She smiled at me. "You're welcome. Can we talk?"

She wanted to talk to _me_?

"Sure, if you want. You can sit in one of the chairs if you want."

Bella walked over and sat next to me on the bench. "You don't mind, do you?"

I groaned. "Yes, I do mind." Heavy sarcasm.

"Deal with it," she laughed.

I traced a few of the keys on the piano. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Umm, well…Alice told me I could find you here, and we've basically ignored each other all night. I don't know, there's just something about talking to you."

So she felt it too. Hmm. "Well, I don't know what to say."

"I don't either."

I frowned. "Do you want to just sit here?"

Bella frowned right back, although her pretend anger wasn't nearly as impressive as mine. "Well, if you have to have it that way, I can leave."

"No, it's fine." I started playing again. By unspoken agreement, there would be no further questioning.

After a few minutes, she closed her eyes and laid her head against mine and sighed.

* * *

_Yay! A cliffhanger sucks, doesn't it? Well, at least time I won't ditch you guys horribly. Someone probably needs to kick me into gear every now and then though, I really am not all excited to share my work, it's a shame I guess, eh?_

_I've also got another story that's kinda plotting itself in my head, so I may put up another one later, but who knows!_

_Thanks for Reading._

_~Kaia_


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